Lobositz "Surprise" - Something Completely Different!

Alex was over Friday night for some gaming goodness and had a "surprise" agenda.  I texted him and asked about possibly playing the "Kings of War" fantasy mass battle game and he responded that he had some other games in mind.  I was intrigued.  (This was perfect because I've been in something of a gaming "rut" lately.  More on that later.)

The cat was out of the bag with Alex's Friday blog post on Commission & Regiment [click] his 1700-1900 warfare blog.  Alex's posts are always well informed, thoughtful, and extremely entertaining.  Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the the post entitled "Lobositz Excusion - Solo".  It was just what the doctor ordered for my gaming-weary soul.

pic from Alex's blog.  Head over there and check it out!

Alex had borrowed my copy of the 1978 GDW Frank Chadwick classic "The Battle of Lobositz" which is part of the GDW Series 120 board games, a stable of games that should be able to be played within 120 minutes.  Alex played a few games of this classic SYW confrontation.  Blogging excellence ensued!

Anyways, Alex brought my copy back along with his excellent and handy plexi-glass cover, the mark of a true board wargaming grognard, and we refought my favorite battle of all time, Lobositz.

View from Frederick the Great's side.  Von Browne (Alex) would be opposite me on the field!

Austrian Grenadiers look on next to "the dice of Austria"

Initial Setup - the units conform rather well to their linear brethren.  You're looking at the Prussian battle lines, and facing the Austrian battlelines.  The Elbe is clearly visible in the upper left with Lobositz the black structures on the map next to the river.  Prussians are exiting the saddle between the Lobosch Hill and the Homolka Mound

We actually used my Volley and Bayonet "Seven Years War Expansion" to deploy our forces.  I've got the Prussian dispositions as close to historically accurate as I can.  My plan is to advance the infantry in the center and threaten the Austrian main body with my gigantic Cavalry corps.  if they attempt to cross the Morellan Bach, I'll charge them head-on.  But there's a catch - the fog.

The fog was so significant at Lobositz that it created serious command and control problems.  These are elegantly replicated here with flipped counters.  You can only see a unit if you're next to it.  It isn't until the 5th or 6th turn that the fog lifts.  This would mess with my head almost as bad as it did with Frederick's on that day!

The first few turns are primarily spent shaking out my main body of infantry and artillery, while going after the detachments of Croats on the Lobosch, which was quite possibly the one right decision I made!

Itzenplitz Regiment - AKA the "Sitzenplatz" elite unit that I dispatched to clear the hill, along with converged Grenadier battalions.  My plan for clearing the Lobosch was very aggressive.

Red units are Croats.  Their 3 morale isn't very good (pass morale on a 3 or less - sound familiar Volley and Bayonet fans?)

Assaulting uphill in woods?  Bring it on!

After a few turns, the Croats have been beaten back, and Alex chooses a different strategy than Browne did - he withdraws his line further into Lobositz, protecting his flanks (nested against the Morellan Bach and the Elbe).  Additionally, if I touch a Morellan Bach hex, it will release the Austrian Main Body.  Something I definitely do NOT want to do!

My biggest mistake of the game captured on the camera for all to see

Around 1030 hours, Frederick is getting impatient.  The Austrians withdraw FARTHER back towards Lobositz.  Note the Morellan Bach turns sharply to the north closer to my lines, so my lines have shrunk even more.  I can't help but feel as if I'm being lured into a trap (which I am...kind of).  So what do I do?  I do what any self respecting Prussian officer would do........

I order an attack.

In hindsight this was absolutely the WRONG call to make and the cream of my infantry, the Morale 6 units, walk straight into the waiting guns of the Austrian artillery batteries, and their muskets' defensive fire.  Now I'm stuck.  The best and only choice I have is to melee the units to my front, or else Alex (Von Browne) is going to get a chance to shoot AGAIN before I can.  To make matters worse, Alex can shoot his artillery against my units which are adjacent.  My guns are silent until the fog lifts.  The US Army calls this "decisively engaged" and it's not a good thing if you didn't want it to happen.

My units are stuck in.  Alex still has 2 lines behind the advance guard.

 I am inventorying my second line and while there is still some good combat power in the second line (including more artillery and very potent cavalry) it's not going to be enough with the losses I've taken to hold Lobositz.  I'm going to have to call it!

Growing list of casualties.  The Kleist infantry regiment disgraced themselves by routing against a much lower strength unit.  

Solid wall of white and red and a very small number of Prussians to face them

At this point, just like in the real battle, Frederick personally quits the field!

What a battle!  Alex's plan was excellent and I've never usually played Lobositz this way.  Frankly, on my 6 x 4 table, the players in Lobositz don't have the operational depth to withdraw that far.  It's brilliant because Alex has his flanks secure and can lure the Prussians into a grinding, desperate battle of attrition, and that's not even against the Austrian main body!

The right call - which you may have already guess, would have been to wait in battle lines until the fog lifted, then order an all out attack along the line with a glorious, splendid artillery barrage to soften up Von Browne's force.  I would have then seen and known all of the Austrian units I was facing.  Instead I committed myself impatiently to a meatgrinding quagmire!  I have only myself to blame!

Wow thank you to Alex for an outstanding and fun game that was literally just what I needed in this gaming funk that I've been in.  Literally none of my rules or games really appeal to me and I'm not sure lately what's been going on but this was a great shot in the arm.

I highly recommend you head over to Alex's "Commission and Regiment" blog and check it out.  You just might find the motivation you've been looking for, too.  [click]  Now after conversation with Alex - another Chadwick classic.

Possibly a teaser of what's to come?  

Stay tuned everyone.  Battle of Liege 1815 (CCN fictitious) coming up soon.